Lancair down at KVUO Pearson, Vancouver WA

http://www.columbian.com/news/planecrash.html

....and...

http://snurl.com/204r

We had a pretty bad traffic snarl yesterday when Bob Cody, a 70-ish
year old pilot with years and years and years of experience, brought
his modified Lancair down on Washington SR 14, right next to the
airport.

He walked away from the crash, a testament to his skill as a pilot.
But before that he also took off while another airplane was on an
approach to land, forcing a go around, which is I guess a testament to
the fact that we all miss one now and then. Then something went wrong,
there was smoke in the cockpit and a loss of power

I was caught in traffic on that highway yesterday, about two hours
after the crash. The authorities were still investigating. They
diverted us off the highway onto side streets, and I, not knowing that
it was a plane crash [1] I decided to divert myself another half-mile
to the airport to ask for weight and balance numbers for their rental
172's.

When I pulled up, all the parking spaces were taken. "That's odd, I
thought, I guess the flight school is doing well!". Then I saw two
very nice helicopters on the grass. "That nice, I guess they've added
some helicopters to the training fleet!" I thought.

Then I went in. There was a respectable looking older woman asking
questions about the radio to the CFI at the desk, whom I had met the
year before. She had a small notebook, which was the first clue that
something was out of character. Then I noticed that their phone was
ringing off the hook, and that this nice woman wouldn't stop asking
questions. That was my first clue. [2]

Then the TV trucks started pulling up, and people started setting up
cameras outside.

After completing my errand, I continued on across the river into
Portland, and kept the radio on. The half-hour and top-hour news
reports made mention of the crash and the traffic problem and were
sure to point out that the airplane was "experimental" without
explaining what that means, and that the airplane had a non-certified
engine modification, without pointing out for the first two hours that
the mod was legally done.

We've discussed KVUO's peculiar class-D designation and requirements
before. I suppose in hindsight that the airspace is a good thing;
otherwise we would have had those choppers aloft at 500 AGL, right
over the pattern, training cameras on this guy's totalled airplane.

I can't help considering that if this were an AUTO accident where
people actually died on the scene, it would not have generated a
two-chopper news alarm. But thankfully, all it was was a destroyed kit
airplane with a Buick engine modification, a bent garbage truck, and
no injuries nor fatalities. Everyone walked away.


Rob

[1] I thought it was an "ordinary" auto accident, you know, the kind
that doesn't cause the entire media corps of a whole class-Charlie
city to descend upon your reliever airport...

[2] Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes for me, what can I say? ;-)